


Broken Gingerbread

by GirlKnownSomewhere



Category: The Monkees (Band), The Monkees (TV)
Genre: 1960s, Band Fic, Christmas, Crushes, Cute, Drinking, Extramarital Affairs, F/M, Ficlet, Flirting, Holidays, Kissing, Making Out, One Shot, Partying, Public Display of Affection, Romance, Tension, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28159227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlKnownSomewhere/pseuds/GirlKnownSomewhere
Summary: A holiday party on the ScreenGems lot for the "Monkees" production team goes unexpectedly for Mike and Jan.
Relationships: Micky Dolenz/Roxanne Albee, Mike Nesmith/Jan Freeman, Peter Tork/Ann Moses
Kudos: 5





	Broken Gingerbread

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo, this may be either amazing or a mess, lol. I wanted to get a Christmas ficlet written to end the year and it's kind of all over the place, but I ended up liking it anyway heh. In retrospect, I probably could have just used 'She' as my holiday ficlet this month, but c'est la vie. I also hesitate to call this canon with some of my past fics, because I had to retcon some things to make this happen, but it also does reference a lot of my earlier stories, which I guess is neat in an Easter egg type way, lol. Anyways, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and happy reading! 🎄❄️
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Monkees' brand or the likenesses of the celebrities featured

One-shot: Broken Gingerbread

Burbank, December 1966

“Oh my God, I love him!”

Mike held a satisfied smile at the overly excited reaction from the young woman in front of him while she petted his spotted retriever appropriately named Spotte. It was one week before the Monkees’ sitcom would go on hiatus for the holidays, and he wanted to surprise one of the show’s lovely TV extras, Jan, with something he had a fairly strong feeling about.

“I just knew you would have the best dogs,” Jan boasted as she hugged the canine, clearly a fan of the bigger type dog herself. Spotte apparently appreciated his new human pal as he kept nudging and jumping up to her. Mike leaned down on one knee to take a shot of the moment with his 35mm camera he brought along with Spotte to the show’s set along that day. The loyal pet lounged inside Mike’s trailer for the morning scenes until their first break rolled around, and he mentioned to Jan to meet him by a bench in between the soundstage and the trailers. Of course, the huge smile on her face was worth the extra effort of bringing one of his canine companions to work. 

“Well, I can’t deny a pretty face, you know,” Mike playfully teased while snapping another picture right as her smile grew bigger with an extra shade of pink to her cheeks. With his own content grin he stood up and moved to sit next to Jan on the bench as she occasionally petted Spotte’s head softly. He gave her a light kiss on the lips which she responded to with a blissful sigh. The moment was a perfect combination of her getting to meet one of his dogs while he got a couple of private photos of her he had been hoping for lately. And even more fortunate no one had yet walked by the corner to possibly taint the mood. “You’re stopping by the holiday get-together, aren’t you?” He asked pleasantly as he ran a hand through her golden hair and then set his arm on the back of the bench. 

“Huh—oh, yeah, that is happening,” she suddenly remembered. “Hmm, I’m not sure. Maybe,” she claimed plainly before letting Spotte lick the back of her hand.

Mike didn’t exactly buy that, especially since they didn’t see each other beyond the shooting schedule as it was. “It would be a chance for us to mingle outside of the studio lot you, you know,” he reminded.

“Pretty sure the party is on the lot, Mike,” she teased back with a small nudge as she let go of the retriever. "Plus we did see each other at Bert's costume party." She turned to face him while Spotte strolled to the opposite end of them to sniff a potted plant. 

“Well, context is everything. I’m rather interested to see you not on your best behavior again,” he jested before giving her shoulder a quick squeeze, as if he wasn’t already seeing some ‘bad’ behavior from her in his trailer. 

“I think you’re going to have to wait a bit longer then…” She lingered carefully.

“Hmm?” he mumbled, still not sensing what she was getting at.

“Because I’m fairly certain you’re not showing up alone…” Jan finally revealed ambiguously.

Mike barely reacted to the suggestion and just gave his shoulder a shrug. “I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily a guarantee,” he casually insisted.

Jan wasn’t convinced, particularly because she knew Mike’s wife Phyllis hadn’t visited the production set since September and the holiday party would be a great opportunity to bring her as a date. Plus Mike and Jan obviously couldn’t show up together since beginning their secret fling and she wasn’t foolish enough to believe they would be able to any time soon. “Well, I’ll be honest. I don’t know how comfortable I would be in the same room as both of you,” she confessed, since the previous party had been when the musician and the stand-in were still platonic friends.

Mike nodded and seemed to take the hint. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Right as Jan responded with her own nod, Spotte hopped on to the bench and sat on the empty corner next to Jan. She chuckled at the dog’s happy expression as he nudged her hand to get her to idly pet his head a couple of times. 

“Wait! Hold that for just one more sec,” Mike exclaimed while raising both of his hands as if to freeze her. He grabbed the camera and jumped up to stand in front of the girl and the dog. “Put your arm around Spotte,” he requested as he raised the camera for another photo. She acquiesced and posed with a soft smile, with even the canine facing the camera. 

Eight hours later Jan walked out of the costume department in her own, regular clothes which consisted today of a black sweater and bright beige pants with feminine loafers. By the time she made it to the front entrance of the studio lot she found Roxanne, Micky and June lingering by. 

“Hey, Jan,” June greeted merrily. “Getting antsy for the holidays?” She asked with her own clear excitement.

Jan shrugged. “My family lives in Malibu, so it won’t be a huge visit or anything. But sure, this time of year is usually nice.”

“Yeah, I always feel like I’m back in school with a seasonal series,” Micky revealed as he placed his arm around Roxanne, referencing how most TV shows have summer and winter breaks. “Which is perfect for this gig, obviously. Don’t want to come off too mature to the kids keeping us employed,” he added in jest.

Roxanne and June rolled their eyes jokingly while Jan just smiled amusedly. 

“You guys going to the party on the lot next week?” Roxanne casually asked.

“Yeah, but I still haven’t heard back from the guy I found to be my date,” June replied with a slightly droll tone.

“Aw, well, I’m sure he’s just busy and will still be able to go with you,” she assured. “What about you, Jan?”

There was a slight pause before the golden-haired girl answered. “Oh yeah. I’m considering going too.”

“Just considering? What else do you have going on that night?—I mean, since you’re single,” Roxanne clarified to not seem rude.

“Oh, well…I’m having trouble finding a date,” Jan attempted.

Micky and June both laughed in surprise. “I thought Pat the gaffer had a thing for you?” June asked.

Jan was slightly caught off guard with the question. Mike did mention a few weeks ago how he saw the show’s head lighting gaffer checking her out, as an offer out of their unethical situation. But at the time, she wasn’t completely sold on the story and thought maybe Mike was only projecting to make his point.

“Pat? I thought Mike’s pal John wanted to ask Jan out,” Micky revealed suddenly.

That comment really threw Jan off, since she had no idea of that possibility either. Mike’s ‘pal’ was his best friend and fellow musician John London who followed him and Phyllis to LA from Dallas, and who occasionally appeared as an extra on some “Monkees” episodes. Jan got along with him fine the few times they had talked in between takes, but she didn’t notice anything more than friendly on his end of the conversations (primarily because she was too busy being smitten with Mike).

“Uh…good to know. Now I have more options than I realized,” Jan ultimately replied.

“Or you could just show up alone,” Roxanne suggested. “It’s a party, not a legitimate date night.”

“But then she might be the only one without a date,” June considered for Jan.

Micky snorted. “Not if the Davids are there scoping out the available Monkee girls,” he passed referring to Davy as well as show extras and band buddies David Pearl and David Price.

“Yeah…I was thinking I might go alone anyway,” Jan inserted. “So you ready to head out?” She asked Roxanne to end the conversation and hope none of them thought anything suspicious of her vague excuses.

“Sure,” the blonde returned before leaning up to give Micky a quick kiss and separating from him. 

“You know, Jan, you might be the only fox who would prefer to show up stag to a big party,” Micky teased. “Even after being informed of multiple contenders.”

Now it was Jan’s turn to roll her eyes. “Maybe I want to test out this independence I’ve grown for a little longer and see who’s interested in me beyond something that’s superfluous?”

He chuckled again. “That sounds like a term from Mike’s personal thesaurus.”

“Hey, be nice,” Roxanne faux-scolded with a small nudge to his arm before she grabbed Jan’s hand to lead her to her car. Jan felt her face flush at the accurate reference to the person she had been trying to be subtle about for the whole chat. “See you guys later.”

“Bye,” June parted and began toward the opposite side of the parking structure. Micky waved animatedly to all three ladies as he went his own way. 

As the two close friends made it to Roxanne’s BMW, the car owner let go of Jan’s hand and grabbed her key from her purse. “Don’t listen to them, I’m sure you’ll have just as much fun as everyone else at the shindig.”

Jan straightened her stature to try to appear aloof. “Right. I mean, why wouldn’t I? Micky’s right, half the crew guys will probably show up alone. Most of the office girls don’t have boyfriends either.”

Roxanne nodded. “Yep,” she said simply and opened her driver’s side door, then slipped into the vehicle to open Jan’s door from the inside.

When the blonde turned on the engine after the brunette slid into the vehicle, Jan attempted to keep the topic off herself again. “You still want me to come over to your place and help you with your dress?...”

****

The next week Jan found herself arriving early to the studio lot party with another blonde friend and colleague, Valerie plus her boyfriend Mitch, with hardly anyone else at the event yet. Jan wanted to be one of the first people to arrive, since she sort of told herself if she showed up early, there might be a chance of Mike arriving late, and she could leave early without getting Phyllis’ attention. Even if the blonde housewife had no idea who Jan was, the brunette already knew she would feel awkward and uncomfortable in the same vicinity as the slightly older woman. She stood by the snack bar with Valerie and Mitch in the mostly empty studio cafeteria that was set-up for just the “Monkees” cast and crew to occupy the night. Jan wore for the occasion a casual ensemble of a long-sleeved black+white polka dot blouse, dark denim pants and a light brown belt. She kept her hair down and chose minimal make-up of a nude lipstick and mascara along with a gold cross necklace.

Jan took a generous swig of the cup of punch in her hand while she tried to remain calm and enjoy the music playing from a record player. But her friend and fellow set extra seemed to notice something was off.

“You alright? You’re acting rather anxious for what’s supposed to be a fun night,” Valerie commented mildly concerned before sipping her own drink. The fellow young woman wore her own long-sleeved red+white polka dot mini-dress that buttoned up in the front and had an all-white collar. Her shoulder length dirty blonde hair was also freely down, with a pink lipstick, mascara and black eyeliner.

Jan ran a hand through her long hair. “Oh, yeah. I just get a little excited whenever we see everyone off the clock, as they say,” she fibbed.

Valerie shrugged. “I guess. Sometimes I forget we’re technically working on the show since we’re usually having such a good time.”

“That’s true,” Jan replied distractedly as she continued glancing to the entrance whenever someone would arrive. At the moment, June appeared with fellow show extras Ric Klein and Mike’s best friend John behind her. The fellow brunette noticed Jan and Valerie, and strolled up to them with an acknowledged nod. She arrived in a blue mini-dress with a large black belt, matching black leather jacket and knee-high white boots. Though in a bit hipper attire than her two friends, June also left her hair and make-up simple.

“Hey,” she greeted while grabbing a soda from the table. “Bummer they decided to keep the drinks dry tonight,” she referred to all of the beverages at the party currently being non-alcoholic. 

“I wouldn’t be too disappointed yet,” Valerie countered. “I heard Micky and Davy might have a surprise happening later.”

June tossed some of her hair over her shoulder with a shrug as a reaction. 

“So what happened with the guy who was supposed to be your date?” Jan asked as she remembered their previous conversation about the event plans.

“Oh, he turned out to be a flake,” June responded after swallowing some soda. “So I thought I’d try following your lead and chat up one of the guys already here.”

Jan gave a nod for lack of anything better to come up with verbally. She really didn’t intend on chatting up anyone tonight and was pretty much hoping to just say hi to everyone before leaving early. After a few more minutes of speaking with the two other ladies, Jan excused herself and moved to throw away her now empty punch cup. As she turned around, she found John in front of her.

“Hi, Jan,” he greeted friendly. 

“Oh, hi,” she returned with a casual smile.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for an early bird,” John jested regarding her already arriving.

Her smile morphed into a playful smirk. “Guess I was feeling unpredictable.”

“I don’t think anyone would accuse you of the opposite,” he complimented before grabbing a handful of almonds from one of the snack bowls on a table near them. “Hey, that’s a great watch!” He suddenly exclaimed while pointing to Jan’s left wrist. She wore a nice analog wrist watch with a black leather band and gold lining around the tiny clock.

She glanced down surprised, as it was probably the last item presently on her she was expecting to get notice. “Oh…thank you,” she replied sincerely.

“I’m actually due for a new one myself just in time for Christmas,” John continued. “Mind if I ask where you shopped?” He asked before taking a couple more bites.

“Oh…I’ll be honest, I think it might have been a gift, heh,” she answered sheepishly with an apologetic grin.

“No worries,” he reassured lightly. “Just thought I’d give it a try. Unless you want to play Secret Santa,” he joked with his own grin.

“Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the game though?” Jan asked cheekily before noticing a few more crew members and a couple of girls who work in the Raybert office walk through the lunch hall entrance. She was once more relieved to find neither Mike nor Phyllis in sight yet. 

“Fair point,” John said airily and brought her out of her little trance. The discussion made her remember Micky’s claim of John supposedly having a crush on her and wondered the accuracy of it in the moment. He was currently flirty but seemingly innocent. If anything, she liked that she kept making new friends with this set extra gig. 

While it was nice talking to John, as well as her fellow Monkee girls, one person Jan had been wishing in the back of her mind would show up is magazine reporter Rochelle Reed. The worldly and hip writer had become somewhat of a close acquaintance with the extra, since they were both regularly on the TV lots for various reasons. And as much as Jan appreciated her usual friends’ advice, Rochelle just came off so experienced and wise even with her youth, that she looked forward to getting her opinions. She wasn’t exactly planning to ever ask the raven-haired columnist’s opinion on her affair with the married Monkee, Jan would subtly get her thoughts on ‘boy’ topics. Which was actually intriguing since Rochelle was apparently very familiar with that subject.

But so far Jan hadn’t seen any of the group’s regular press correspondents make an appearance at the holiday party, with the exception of Ann Moses from Tiger Beat. The petite blonde just happened to be walking into the room as Jan turned her head in that direction, which was almost instantly followed with Micky and Davy jovially entering behind her and rolling a giant keg, while Peter held two bottles of champagne. Cheers roared throughout the party to the surprise with Micky and Davy taking overly animated bows. Jan laughed in amusement and was now convinced the show’s team really were going to be the only ones on the lot for the rest of the day, as Davy and all of the Monkee girls except Valerie were between 18-20 years old. And speaking of Monkee girls, Roxanne was now entering behind the three sitcom stars with an amused smile on her face. When she spotted Jan, Valerie and June, she waved and made her way over to them. The platinum blonde had on a sleeveless, black velvet dress which stopped at her knees and with a dark green ribbon in her hair for a headband.

“Well, someone knows how to keep a secret,” June playfully quipped once Roxanne stopped walking. 

“Blame Pandora,” Roxanne jested back referring to the Hollywood club Pandora’s Box which was busted by the police semi-recently for serving liquor to minors.

“So is Mike the only one missing?” Valerie suddenly asked as she set her drink on the table near them.

“I think so,” Roxanne replied. “I doubt Raybert will be showing up this time around,” she added referencing “Monkees” showrunners Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson, and making Jan think of the Halloween party she enjoyed with many of the same people here two months ago at Bert’s house.

“Surprised Mike didn't arrive with John since those two are usually attached at the hip,” June noted while lazily playing with a strand of her hair.

“Well, at least whenever Jan isn’t attached to it,” Valerie countered nonchalantly. 

The comment got Jan’s head to whip around directly to her friends’ conversation. “Excuse me?” She asked instantly paranoid. But the blank reactions from the three young women made her realize the statement must have been innocuous. “Um, I mean, why do you say that?” She tried again a little more relaxed.

“I just meant since you two are always chatting in between takes,” Valerie clarified calmly.

Jan nodded in understanding. “Oh, right. True,” she agreed coolly. “But…I do chat with Peter and Micky sometimes during the shoots…and, well, with you guys too.”

“Yeah, but you always look so excited to see Mike. It’s a little cute, really,” June intercepted. 

“Well who wouldn’t?” Valerie asked rhetorically.

“Do you think Phyllis will be he—” Roxanne began to ask, but was immediately cut off by Jan.

“You know, I think I enjoyed that punch a little too soon,” she said as an excuse to leave and go to the restroom. “I’ll be right back.”

The other three didn’t appear to think much of her dodging any discussion on Mike and jetting away from the group, so they carried on talking to each other. During her route to the hall restroom, Jan paused when Peter hopped in front of her. “Hey, do you know if Ann’s here yet?”

She pointed to a corner of the room where she noticed the magazine journalist lounging after the alcohol was snuck into the party. Peter gave her an appreciative smile and hurried over to the blonde excitedly. From Jan’s brief view, Ann currently looked to be the party-goer with the most colorful ensemble yet, consisting of a yellow blazer, red top, orange pants and an equally orange beady necklace. She perked up in equal excitement when she found Peter walking toward her, which made Jan wonder for a split second if there was an attraction there beyond platonic work friends.

The set extra used the restroom mirror to check her appearance once she left one of the stalls and washed her hands. She opened the door to what she thought was still an empty hallway until a couple of steps in she suddenly felt a pair of hands grasp her waist with her mouth releasing a surprised yelp. When she turned her head to see who the attacker was, she only got a two second glimpse of the familiar face.

“Mike—”

Before she could properly speak, the tall musician rapidly pulled her into an embrace and passionate kiss. Jan naturally responded by raising her arms in both habit and genuineness, with a barely audible moan leaving her mouth. She enjoyed the relatively tame intimacy for about a minute as their lips parted and one of her hands moved to the nape of his neck to feel his hair. When his own hands moved down to her hips, with one moving to her behind, she suddenly pushed him off. “Are you insane right now?”

“Partially,” he teased with a smirk and kept his hand around Jan’s waist. 

The petite extra let out a frustrated sigh with her eyes closed. “Let go, anyone could see us—”

Mike silenced her with a quick kiss, which only bothered Jan because her body reacted to it enjoyably. “It’s been torture being away from you,” he insisted though still with his lopsided grin.

“You saw me two days ago,” she reminded unimpressed.

“Still not any less true,” Mike claimed and ran a hand through her hair, but she raised her own hand to swipe his away.

“Stop it, I know she’s here—”

“I arrived alone,” he cut her off with.

Jan raised an eyebrow unconvinced. “No, you didn’t.”

“I did, for real,” he repeated seriously.

She considered his claim for a long moment. “…You came with someone else and she’s meeting you here so you can drive home together.”

Mike was silent from what was clearly a correct assumption.

“Uh huh, exactly. Bye—”

When she turned her body to step away from him, he touched her forearm. “Liz—”

“Mike, come on,” she interrupted once more, now fully irritated. “I didn’t even want to be here tonight and only showed up to not seem suspicious of anything,” she revealed with a huff.

There was another pause before Mike responded, “Well then. I’m sorry I ruined your night,” in that annoying tone where Jan couldn’t tell if he was being serious or sarcastic.

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the hallway wall without a reply. He took a step closer and casually placed his hand on her shoulder. “You look great,” he complimented with a soft grin.

The gesture caused an authentic smile in return as she felt him squeeze her shoulder and quickly remembered how nice it felt to be caressed by him. She studied what he was wearing for the first time since their abrupt greeting. He didn’t appear any dissimilar to how he was dressed during filming, presently with a white buttoned-up shirt and jeans with a large black belt. The only thing missing was his trademark green beanie on his head. “I was going to say the same to you, but I’m pretty sure I saw you wear this last week,” she teased lightly.

Rather than respond with words, Mike instead gently pulled her into a hug, surprising Jan a little as it was the less romantic or typical reaction he could have chosen. But she warmed into the embrace contently for a moment as she forgot her own warning from earlier. She sighed with her eyes closed and felt Mike's hand brush up and down her back before raising her head closer to his when he kissed the top of her head. The pair kissed again and attempted necking once more until Jan heard a loud, group cheer from the party down the hall and suddenly pushed away. She jumped out of his reach before he could properly react and sped back into the holiday gathering, relieved he didn’t attempt to stop her this time.

Back in the party, Jan found the champagne and beer had been opened and the music switched from Christmas songs to livelier rock and pop tunes. Her eyes roamed the room until she found Davy and Roxanne by the record player and made her way over to them.

On the other end of the room, Ann was currently spending the party discreetly people watching and occasionally taking a sip of her new cup of champagne. She noticed Jan abruptly enter the festive room in a flurry and wondered why as the young lady strolled over to Valerie and Mitch again. Only half a minute later Mike appeared through the same door and made his presence to the crowd for the first time that night. Ann watched him make his way to Micky and buddy/show extra Ric Klein across the room. 

“Hey, Ann! Do you Lindy?” Peter asked hopping back in front of her now with a paper cup of beer.

“Not since 7th grade,” she replied lazily while still eyeing Mike’s and Jan’s behavior. 

“Yeah, me neither. I just hate to see a dancefloor go unoccupied,” he claimed while motioning with a pose to the empty area next to the record.

Ann shook her head with a humored smile, but was distracted once more as her face turned to the crowd and noticed Mike give Jan a goofy wave which she didn’t seem too amused with. Ann’s eyes squinted at the peculiar interactions. The way Mike was acting with Jan wasn’t how he had ever been around Ann, or well, most people she saw around him.

“Hello?” 

She heard Peter’s voice again and shook her head out of its brief trance to see the light-haired musician waving for her attention.

“Why do you think Mike has no problem talking to the TV crew but not me?” She suddenly asked while looking back to the pair in fascination.

Peter wasn’t expecting the detailed question and was caught off guard for a moment. “Because none of them work for Chuck Laufer?” He asked both rhetorically but also legitimately referencing the owner of Tiger Beat and its affiliate publications.

Ann sighed as she studied and considered Mike’s out of character behavior. “It’s just odd…”

“What is?” Peter asked, now curious himself.

“Well…” She began as she saw the pair seemingly take a break from their awkward, though still subtle, communication. “I’ve seen Mike more animated in the past 10 minutes than I ever have in the past three months off camera,” she explained.

The bassist took a glance at Mike who was in the middle of a conversation with Micky. Peter didn’t see anything too out of ordinary and shrugged. “He’s not on the job tonight—just like you.” He pointed out.

The reference to herself got the writer to finally break away from staring and look at Peter.

“So come on, let’s have some fun!” He exclaimed before grabbing her hand and leading her out to the floor, with Ann shaking her head amusedly. 

As the two friends danced to enjoyment, on the other side of the room, Jan had moved from speaking with Valerie and Mitch, back to John by the drinks. The stand-in was a third of her way done with her champagne and John was ready to refill his beer cup. Once in a while Jan would take a quick glimpse into the crowd nervously expecting to see Phyllis appear at any moment. When John leaned down to use the keg, Jan’s eyes just happened to land on Mike, who felt her looking toward him and responded with a discreet wink. She instantly felt both annoyance and infatuation from the endearment, and broke her attention away with a quiet huff. 

“So we’re scheduled to appear on ‘American Bandstand’ once the single’s released,” John began as Jan’s attention was brought back to their current conversation. “I don’t know if that’s a show you like, but I could try to get you a seat in the audience…” He lingered with a mildly hopeful tone.

Jan had learned momentarily ago how John very recently joined a country-folk band called the Lewis & Clarke Expedition with another buddy of Mike’s, Michael Martin Murphey. She wasn’t surprised to hear they already had a record deal with Colgems as being close friends with a member of the hottest pop-rock group in the US was probably a huge advantage. Had this been any day at any other job, she probably would’ve accepted the offer without hesitation. But considering the fact she was secretly involved with his best friend, Jan would rather not make the situation any more complicated than it already was.

“Oh, thanks…that sounds like a lot of fun,” she started carefully. “I’ll let you know if I already have anything else planned that week or not,” she ultimately concluded ambiguously as she finished the last gulp of champagne in her cup. John grew a satisfied smile with the response as Jan briefly looked back to Mike, only to discover he appeared to be presently missing. But just a minute later, after throwing away her cup in the trash and speaking with John on what was the tastiest snack at the party, Jan glanced up to the room entrance when a slim woman with long blonde hair in a black dress with horizontally grey stripes and a white headband walked through. Behind her was Mike, seemingly cool and collected. Jan panicked internally as her mind raced on what to do next before the couple happened to get any closer to her. She looked around the room nervously until eventually landing back on John.

“Do you want to get out of here?” She asked out of the blue.

The musician didn't expect the offer, though quickly switched to interested. “Sure! You mean now or—”

“Yeah, now would be great,” she interrupted and even grabbed his wrist to lead him away from the crowd rapidly. On their way to the front door, Jan caught the attention of June and Roxanne near the edge of the dancefloor. The two gave her a silent thumbs up in excitement when they noticed she and John were leaving together. The fellow extra reacted with a slightly anxious smile before grabbing her purse by the entrance while walking out of the building. 

Fifteen minutes later Mike discreetly glimpsed around the party to see if Jan was nearby while he and Phyllis chatted with one of the sitcom’s regular directors, Jim Frawley. When it became obvious she wasn’t in the room, Mike subtly excused himself to leave the discussion. He moved to the snack and drink tables where he found band buddy and fellow musician Bill Chadwick refilling a beer cup. “Hey, Bill. Do you know if Jan’s here tonight?” He fibbed calmly for an answer. 

“Oh yeah, I saw her earlier,” the sandy haired songwriter replied casually. “Actually, I think she just left with John,” he added before taking a sip of his drink.

Mike’s brow creased in confusion. “John? You sure?”

“Yep. Pretty sure,” Bill assured. “They were rather lively by the beverages earlier.”

Mike released a sigh he tried to not sound too apparent. He knew John was attracted to Jan (who wouldn’t be?), but he was hoping his friend wouldn’t actually make a move any time soon. “Oh…” He let out while his mind wondered where the two might be going.

Bill shrugged, not seeing a big deal with the information he revealed. “Good for him. Jan’s smokin.’”

The comment suddenly irritated Mike as he speedily went from feeling regretful to now foolish thinking he could actually make tonight work with both Jan and Phyllis in attendance. “Thanks,” he said shortly with only a minor edge as he decided he needed a break from the crowd and step outdoors for some air. And hope Jan was just being polite and didn’t really have any interest in John…

On the route to the small courtyard just outside the building, Mike tried to keep his composure and not give any hint of the annoyed remorse he was feeling. He was so wracked in thought that he didn’t notice he was about to bump into a small, recognizable blonde reporter right next to the door.

“Oh, Hi, Mike. Merry Chris—”

But he barely paid attention to Ann’s greeting as he carried on away from the party without acknowledging her. The writer gave a lazy, sarcastic wave to no one in particular while wondering why she even bothered to attempt to greet him.


End file.
